Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!mts.rpi.edu!Garance_Drosehn
From: Garance_Drosehn@mts.rpi.edu (Garance Drosehn)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps
Subject: Re: StuffIt Deluxe Installer from Hell!
Message-ID: <QRP^Y!*@rpi.edu>
Date: 27 Dec 90 04:04:04 GMT
References: <40020@nigel.ee.udel.edu>
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst.
Lines: 52
Nntp-Posting-Host: gilead.its.rpi.edu

In article <40020@nigel.ee.udel.edu> johnston@oscar.ccm.udel.edu writes:
> I experienced several similar problems while trying to install
> StuffIt Deluxe on my 5 meg SE/30,40 running System 6.0.5. (These 
> occurred both with and without a conservative set of inits and cdevs.)
> The result was similar to the "Folder from Hell" problem that has
> been described on the net.  All of the installation procedures were
> done exactly as described in the manual (read after the fact, of
> course).
  ...(skipping the exact details of the pain encountered)...

Yes indeed.  My theory is that the expert option of the installer simply 
gets confused about what it is doing.  I ended up installing everything 
and then deleting the few files I didn't want.  I didn't have Stuffit 
Classic on the drive though (I assume you mean the new 1.6 version, not 
the earlier 1.5.1 version).

That was several months ago.  Since I got the beast installed I've had no 
problems at all with any of the features I've tried.  My advice is to 
consider it two different products, (1) the installer, which is dangerous 
and quite willing to cause major headaches, and (2) StuffIt Deluxe, which 
works perfectly fine (albeit a little slow, at least in my version (1.0)). 
I'd much rather use StuffIt Deluxe than StuffIt, due to all the neat new 
features.

If you want to bypass the installer, and you have either version 1.6 or 
StuffIt Deluxe installed already, you can do it by having StuffIt open the 
installer file.  For StuffIt 1.6, press the Option key while selecting 
"Open archive..." from the menu.  Then you'll see all files on the disk, 
including the installer program.  Open the installer, and you'll be able 
to unstuff any files you want, assuming you know where they should go.

I don't have StuffIt Deluxe here at work, but I think the only difference 
is that it's dialog for opening an archive includes a pop-up menu which 
you can use to select all files.  So you do that instead of pressing the 
option key.

It might be true that this same trick would work using StuffIt 1.5.1 to 
open the archive file, but I don't have version 1.5.1 around anymore to 
try it.  I imagine the new installer files use the newer format for 
stuffit archives though, so this probably won't work.

>          ... and reinstalled StuffIt 1.5.1.  If the StuffIt 
> Deluxe Installer is an example of the reliability of Deluxe 
> archives, I don't think I can afford the "luxury".

Basically all I wanted to say here is that the installer program is not an 
indication of the reliability of StuffIt Deluxe itself.  If you have the 
nerve to try the installer again, I expect you won't regret using StuffIt 
Deluxe instead of version 1.5.1 (you may regret running the installer 
again, of course...).

Garance_Drosehn@mts.rpi.edu